Fifer Orchards

Fifer Orchards is an amazing family owned 2800 acre farm. The farm is an amazing example of Delaware Agriculture. Fifer Orchards is a community based orchard that focuses it’s attention on involvement, education, and community supported agriculture (CSA). The farm grows produce such as sweet corn, cauliflower, kale, apples, strawberries, and tomatoes. They also have a wonderful market in which they sell pies, baked goods, and jams. We visited Fifer Orchards on their first Fall Fest day of 2017-2018. They had a band, food trucks, and bouncy houses for the community to come spend time and learn about where their food is grown. It was amazing to see the technology they utilize to produce incredible yields. Fifer uses hand labor, but they also use machines to do a variety of tasks such as planting beds and laying plastic for next years strawberry crops. They use specialized plastic for their high tunnels that reject red UV light to keep the temperatures cool. Their watering systems vary on the crop in which they are placed, but they use pivot irrigation systems or drip. They annually employ over 160 people! Seeing the diversity and the variety of techniques they use to maintain a successful business was very inspirational! Their family business is truly amazing, and contributes to Delaware’s community!

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